Great War British Reenacting Units

Aha, Britain... Lord Kitchner's Army. The British Army marched into the Great War, a well-trained, professional army, but their spit and polish was to be lost in this war. Britain's manhood drained to the last, yet in the end, victorious! A proud heritage to reenact -- do YOU have what it takes?

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	6th Buffs Regiment (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) The Buffs are always looking for new members. So if you are interested in joining a British unit for World War One, then be sure to contact us. We have loaner equipment to help you out until you get our own kit together.
	Guards Division Living History (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) Our organization is part of the Great War Association. Our members have an interest in the history of the Great War, in particular the sacrifice and struggle of the British "Tommy" who served with the Guards Division in the front line trenches in Flanders and France. We dedicate time to take the fascinating history of the Great War out of the history books to experience, study, and better understand the struggles of that passing Great War generation. In addition, our members volunteer time to educate the public about the history of the Great War and the soldiers who fought it. It provides a truly hands-on experience for children and adults alike, that promotes a better understanding of the war and those who fought it.
	7th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) 7th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (USA)--The 7th Royal Irish Rifles is a First World War reenactment Unit affiliated with the Great War Association. D Company, 7th Royal Irish Rifles are broken down into 2 main groups, Rifles and Heavy Weapons/Headquarters. The Rifle Platoon consists of two rifle squads under the direction of a platoon sergeant and two corporals serving as squad leaders. One of these squads is comprised of a scout element while the other is strictly standard infantry. The Heavy Weapons/Headquarters Platoon consists of a machinegun detachment and a mortar section. The machinegun detachment is comprised of 3 heavy and 2 light machineguns and serves from a two port machinegun bunker behind the front line trench. The mortar section is comprised of two, 3 inch Stokes mortars located towards the rear of the trench system. Each of these detachments has an NCO in charge.
	10th Essex (UK) The ‘10th Essex’ is a military display and living history group depicting the British Soldier in the Great War 1914 – 1918. To this end all members are authentically uniformed and drilled as members of the Regiment during that conflict – to the smallest detail. The Group have an extensive experience of commemorative marches and parades in Europe. 10th Essex being the largest unit of the 2006 Somme March extensively televised in UK by the BBC. The groups aim is to provide a well informed and balanced ‘Visual Remembrance’ of those brave men of the Battalion and others who served in the British armed forces throughout the conflict. The group undertake public displays of drill and tactics at Historical events. These typically take place in the private grounds of the event sponsor: English Heritage, Historical Scotland, Royal Armouries, National Army Museum, and the Shuttleworth Collection being typical and regular examples of these. In such surroundings live weapon fire and pyrotechnics can be demonstrated. 10th Essex also offer a ‘Royal Flying Corps’ presentation, the mainstay of which is the groups Nieuport 12 two-seater biplane and its crew. This full sized aircraft is a professionally constructed film prop. It is the basis of ‘flight demonstrations’ of Reconnaissance flying over the Western Front in 1917. The presentations are light-hearted but give the audience a serious message as to the hazards of flying over the Western Front.
	17th Lancers Duke of Cambridge's Own (USA -- Southern California -- GWHS) (NOTE: goes to GWHS main Brit units page. 17th site down.) We are a historical reenactment unit with The GWHS and have two major battle events, one in March and December--these are a twenty-four hour battles. On our site, we have pictures of us in the field having fun. A brief history of the real Lancers is also here, along with ours. You can also read about reenacting this type historical battles. See some neat diagrams of how some trenches were built. There is much to inform and entertain you here. We hope that you decide to join us!
	Royal Engineers BEF (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) No site; just contact page on GWA website.
	"A" Coy, 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers BEF: 12th Brigade, 4th Division (USA -- Southern California -- GWHS) ...As a unit, we police ourselves by honouring the contemporary regulations of the period = Kings Regulations and Orders for the Army: 1912, + any and all connected contemporary MOD (Ministry of Defence) and MOD approved documents and pamphlets. Apart from the aforementioned 'KR's, all we ask of you is the following: 1) You are willing to have a great time, make new friends and have fun whilst doing so. 2) You agree to abide by and honour the above 'KR's. 3) You agree to (whilst in uniform) maintain a period appearance for haircut, and no facial hair other than upon the top lip.. trimmed as contemporary to period. 4) You agree to portray a WW.1 member of the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers in total contemporary. 5) You make a concerted effort to put together in your first year (date to start from enlistment) the basic LF uniform. 6) You agree to abide by the rulings of your superiors within the regiment = Officers & NCO's.
	Royal Marine Light Infantry -- “A” Company, 1st Royal Marine Battalion, Royal Naval Division (USA -- Arizona -- GWHS) The 1st Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry is a modern re-enactment group dedicated to the re-construction of a unit of the United Kingdom’s Royal Marine Light Infantry during the Great War. The time frame is from 1914 to 1918. Activities of the Royal Marine Light Infantry include re-enactments, living history, and educational presentations. The 1st Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry is dedicated to historical authenticity and accuracy in it’s presentations and equipments. This group is based in Phoenix, Arizona, but will act in co-ordination with other re-enactment groups throughout the United States and Canada. Membership in the 1st Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry is open to interested parties who wish to participate in its activities, and are willing to adhere to the guidelines and bounds of authenticity. Prospective members will be provided with assistance in the selection and procurement of their equipment.
	Great War Society Irish Company (UK) Our aim is to represent the Irish Involvement in The Great War.We portray the life and experiences of the Irish "Tommie",in a living history format.We attempt to be as accurate as is humanly possible and use mostly reproduction equipment sourced within the society or from independant suppliers.We also have non uniformed members who partake in research and also support the events.Our events do not involve battle reenactment.We seek to educate the general public to those long past events which shaped the modern world and more importantly,the change in the world attitude. The Irish Company is made up of two units,the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.We are not political or sectarian in any way and our sole aim is to promote understanding of the circumstances that prevailed in Ireland during The Great War.The Irish units were volunteers raised by Edward Carson in the North and John redmond in the south.The Unionists joined up,mostly UVF, to oppose the Home Rule Bill and the Nationalists hoped to gain support in England for home rule in return for their volunteer army.But these men did not know division when they fought side by side in battle.stretcher bearers from the 36th Ulster division carried the fatally wounded William Redmond to safety.Similiary,we come together in the same spirit as those men,representing both communities involvement in this tragic chapter of mans history.
	2nd Battn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) No site; just contact page on GWA website.
2nd Battn, Border Regiment (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) The second Battalion the Border Regiment strives to recreate a typical British battalion during the period of the First World War. The membership hails mostly from the greater Chicago and Milwaukee areas, with members also residing in Indiana and other parts of Wisconsin. We re-enact at the Great War Memorial Site in Newville, Pennsylvania.
	Allied Battalion HQ Staff (USA -- MidLant -- GWA) Link at GWA website -- no other website known.
	The Manchester Regiment (UK) A UK based living history group portraying the British Tommy between 1914-1918. Living History is fast becoming a very popular pastime in Britain. There are numerous groups around portraying men and women from every period in history. The Great War is a particularly poignant time to recreate. All of us are likely to have family that fought, and often died, between 1914-1918. From nearly every country in the world men went to war, it was the first truly global conflict. Not only that but it is widely accepted to have been the first proper industrial war, where the artillery and machine guns ruled the battlefield. So why do we want to portray such a terrible war? The reason is the same as why the nation stops to remember it, and all the wars after it, every Rememberance Sunday - 'Lest We Forget.' Everyone learns about the battles and the horrors at school, but what is not often remembered is the men themselves. Who were they? What did they eat? How did they fight? How did they cope with such awful conditions? These, and many others, are the questions that all members of our Regiment want answers to. Hopefully if you become a member you can start to have a greater understanding and can even relay that understanding to the general public at some of our events. It is important to stress at this point that unlike many societies, we are not a 'battle reenactment' group. Every member of the Regiment, past and present, feels this is not appropriate for the Great War. What we do is 'living history.' Experienced readers will know what this means, but for those who do not, in basic terms, we try to dress, behave and experience the life of the British soldier at the beginning of the 20th century as accurately as possible.